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I took a road trip to the Fort Worth-Dallas area this past week. A few days before starting the journey I decided to buy an engagement ring and plan a proper way to propose to my girlfriend of many, many years.

That proposal took place in an end zone at Cowboys Stadium on the final day of our trip as our 2-year old son ran wild on the field. Our final day in the area proved much more rewarding than my first night in east Texas, which resulted in a hefty speeding ticket.

Did you see the College Football Playoff rankings that were released Tuesday? Looks like there’ll be plenty to complain about by the time this whole thing concludes at the end of the regular season. Quick question: Will Nebraska (8-1) or Duke (8-1) ever crack the Top 10? They’ll likely need to win their conferences for that to happen. Here’s the updated Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings…

The top four teams this week in the College Football Playoff, in order, are Mississippi State, Florida State, Auburn and Oregon, just as the top four teams in this week’s version of the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings.

The first version of the official College Football Playoff rankings rolled out Tuesday. There will be plenty of changes to that list throughout the remainder of the season and it’ll be fun to see how the committee weighs each team as it decides upon the four programs most deserving of playing for a national title. This week the top four teams according to the College Football Playoff consist of Mississippi State, Florida State, Auburn and Mississippi – in that order. Here’s how the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings shape up this week:

There’s still plenty to be decided as we get closer to figuring out which four teams will be the last program’s standing to take part in the new college football playoff. Although nine of the 10 teams listed below are the same names tabbed in the top spots of the Associated Press Top 25, these rankings vary quite a bit. Here’s this week’s Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings:

Teams are starting to win the sort of games that will separate them from the rest of the pack when it comes time to deciding which programs will make up the college football playoff. Although the Associated Press has a new No. 1 this week, the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings have gone unchanged at the top spot.

Go ahead, try to wrap your head around what took place last Saturday in the wild world of college football. A total of eight teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 suffered losses while three others suffered setbacks in Top 25 matchups. Needless to say, the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings tumbled in spectacular fashion. But we’re back to pick up the pieces and add some new names and faces, of which many will surely fall in the coming weeks. Consider this a Top 10 dedicated to momentum each week based off level of upsets and voting by the AP:

Teams atop the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings caused fans to question their toughness this past week as they kept matchups interesting for far too long. There’s just one new addition this time around to the Top 10 and a little movement based on bye weeks. Consider this a Top 10 dedicated to momentum each week based off level of upsets and voting by the Associated Press:

#1 (1) Florida State (4-0) – Won 56-41 at NC State
#2 (2) Auburn (4-0) – Won 45-17 at Louisiana Tech
#3 (4) Oregon (4-0) – Did not play
#4 (3) Texas A&M (5-0) – Won 35-28 (OT) vs Arkansas
#5 (6) Oklahoma (4-0) – Did not play
#6 (7) Alabama (4-0) – Did not play
#7 (–) UCLA (4-0) – Won 62-27 at No. 15 Arizona State
#8 (7) Mississippi State (4-0) – Did not play
#9 (10) Michigan State (3-1) – Won 56-14 vs Wyoming
#10 (9) East Carolina (3-1) – Did not play

Not a lot of movement in the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings as just one team from last week fell short in Week 4. Consider this a Top 10 dedicated to momentum each week based off level of upsets and voting by the Associated Press:

NOTES: Because FSU & Auburn played for the title last season, they remain atop these rankings… Texas A&M, Georgia & LSU won Top 25 matchups in Week 1 against teams in the Associated Press poll, but A&M drops from 3 to 4, Georgia drops from 4 to 8 and LSU drops from 5 to 7… Oklahoma (from 6 to 9) and Alabama (9 to 10) also drop after Oregon’s win over No. 7 Michigan State moves the Ducks up from 7 to 3… The moves make way for Virginia Tech (35-21 win at No. 8 Ohio State) and USC (13-10 win at No. 13 Stanford) to claim spots in the Top 10… The biggest matchup this weekend involving teams in the AP Top 25 is No. 6 Georgia (2-2) at No. 24 South Carolina.

On Saturday we broke down the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings entering Week 2 and talked about big matchups this weekend involving Michigan State-Oregon, USC-Stanford, Virginia Tech-Ohio State, and Michigan-Notre Dame.

NOTES: Because FSU & Auburn played for the title last season, they start atop these rankings. Texas A&M, Georgia & LSU won Top 25 matchups against teams in the Associated Press poll and because of that move into the Top 5 right off the bat. The benefit of the doubt was given to Oklahoma, Alabama & Ohio State due to their respective rankings in the AP poll this week, as was the case with Oregon & Michigan State, the winner of which will likely move up following Week 2. Ohio State is the only other team on this list playing a decent opponent this weekend (Virginia Tech). Also, expect the winner of Stanford & USC to climb into the Top 10 next week.

That brief moment of excitement I feel each year when preparing to watch the NFL Draft doesn’t linger for too long. I’m usually ready to channel surf or dip in and out of the room by the eighth pick. But this year I realized it’s all in the way you approach it.

I spent much of the draft last night in a recliner with a laptop, smartphone and remote control nearby. First thing I realized was that ESPN has been ruining this event for me for years. It wasn’t until I committed to the NFL Network’s broadcast that I no longer had the urge to throw my television through a wall due to the rabid jaw-flapping.

Then I got caught up in the information overload world of Twitter and Facebook, reading and responding to online posts about fan’s draft triumphs and despair, with plenty of doses of humor thrown in at each other’s expense.